


The Suitor

by house_of_lantis



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-05
Updated: 2012-04-02
Packaged: 2017-11-01 04:08:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/house_of_lantis/pseuds/house_of_lantis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Present day AU, Kris was an Eromenos, but he's much more interested in being Adam's Suitor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _The ideal Erômenos is:_
> 
> _a beautiful creature without pressing needs of his own. He is aware of his attractiveness, but self-absorbed in his relationship with those who desire him. He will smile sweetly at the admiring lover; he will show appreciation for the other's friendship, advice, and assistance. He will allow the lover to greet him by touching, affectionately, his genitals and his face, while he looks, himself, demurely at the ground. The inner experience of an erômenos would be characterized, we may imagine, by a feeling of proud self-sufficiency. Though the object of importunate solicitation, he is himself not in need of anything beyond himself. He is unwilling to let himself be explored by the other's needy curiosity, and he has, himself, little curiosity about the other. He is something like a god, or the statue of a god._

Kris leaned against the doorway to his father’s library, a small smile on his lips. 

“—is he ever going to take up an offer?” 

He heard his father laugh, deep and rumbly. “Kristopher has always been his own man. If he doesn’t want to take any Suitors, I see the fault is with the men who try to engage his attention, not any fault with my son.” 

“But it’s bizarre that he spent his youth _flirting_ with everyone and still is unattached,” one of his father’s friends said. 

Kris peered around the doorway, smirking a little at the three men who sat in front of his father’s desk, enjoying his port wine and fine cigars. 

“He’s the son of a Royal Patrician and what he wants to do with his life is his own,” his father said, sternly. “I will not have this discussion with you, my friend. Kristopher has made his decision and as a full Citizen, we must accept it.” 

“Besides, he’s too old now, twenty-five is it? He’s lost his youthful glow.” 

Kris’s father laughed. “Has he?” 

“Neil, Randolph is just bitter because Kristopher refused him a dozen times,” another of Kris’s father’s friend said, teasing and chiding. 

“Perhaps you weren’t to his liking,” his father said, sighing softly. “I admit the boy was always too smart and too vain to seriously consider Suitors for anything intimate.” 

Kris frowned, biting on his lower lip. He didn’t think he was overly vain; though he did know his own mind and his own worth. He learned very early on not to give himself to anyone, certainly not to any of his father’s friends. 

“Well, it’s fortunate that you have a second son who is far more open-minded.” 

Kris’s father chuckled. “Yes, he is that; though I’m sure you’ll find that he’s a handful and not half as pleasant with Kristopher’s temperament.” 

The men laughed with him and Kris rolled his eyes, pushing off the doorway to walk down the hallway to his private suite. He opened the door and walked into the large sitting room, his guitar propped beside the low leather couch. He sprawled on it and kicked off his dirty sneakers, smiling to himself. 

When he turned 13-years old, he was thrust into a world where he could accept older Suitors who would be his teacher, friend, and possibly lover; and while Kris did accept the offer of friendship and guidance, he never took a lover from any of the hundreds of Suitors who came to call on him. He was a little piqued because he knew most of them came to claim him as nothing more than a trophy since he was the son of a Royal Patrician, the first son of the distinguished Allen family, and Kris saw through the oily, crass veneer of those who were after him for the single fact of being his First. 

No matter, Kris was perfectly happy with his circle of Admirers – all of them willing to be friend and teacher and never going beyond Kris’s comfort. 

Now, at 25-years old, he didn’t _need_ Suitors; in fact, there was one man that Kris was interested in. 

Adam Lambert.

He was a gifted singer but from an unremarkable family; a Citizen, but not a Royal. Kris didn’t think his father would mind the relationship, though he wouldn’t be able to offer Adam anything permanent. As a Royal Patrician himself, Kris was required to marry a woman from another Royal family and produce heirs. He could keep his friendships and his lovers, but marriage was still something he was obliged to do. 

He didn’t think Adam would mind. If anything, Kris could ensure Adam’s success as a singer and provide a life for him that most would envy. Possibly even give Adam his heart and allow him to be his First. 

It was a delicious thought. Even though Adam was older, Kris would be a Suitor.

*** 

Adam blinked owlishly at him. “You want to be my what, exactly?” 

Kris had asked his father to arrange a meeting with Adam. He was expecting his father to ask him a thousand questions or to prevent Kris from meeting Adam in such a formal manner, but all his father did was just grin and said that he would have his assistant contact Adam’s family for the meeting. 

It had taken a couple of weeks and several rounds of negotiations for propriety’s sake – the Lamberts couldn’t be seen as _too_ eager to introduce Adam to the son of a Royal Patrician – before Kris was allowed to have this dinner date with Adam. 

Kris calmly sipped his wine and grinned at him across the table. “Your Suitor.” 

“I’m thirty…and you’re younger than me?” He said, wincing a little bit. “Isn’t that kind of…backwards?” 

Kris cut into his steak and gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I’m still a virgin.” 

“And I’m not.” 

“Cool,” he said, plopping the big hunk of meat into his mouth and chewing happily. 

“But…” 

Adam watched him for a long moment and then resumed eating his California salad, his eyebrows furrowed together a little. Kris sighed to himself, looking at Adam. He was terribly beautiful and tall and kind of over-the-top but had lovely manners and elegant looking hands. Kris was surprised and pleased and amused by Adam’s many contradictions; he was certainly unpredictable and nothing like Kris thought he’d be like. 

Granted, most of the things Kris imagined had to do with sex. Adam wasn’t just sexy, he was _sex_. He imagined that Adam’s hands would feel wonderful on his body and wondered what it would look like wrapped around his cock. And now seeing that his eyes were so blue, Kris imagined what it would look like to have Adam watching him with those blue eyes while he was giving Kris pleasure. 

But as he got to know a little more about Adam, Kris discovered that Adam was smart and funny and natural. They shared a love for music and the history of music. He loved Adam’s manners, the way he spoke to people, the way he handled his food, the way he would meet Kris’s eyes when they spoke, so earnest and curious and respectful without catering to him because of his status – really, it was like Adam was raised in a Royal household. Usually, Kris found a lot of his Royal peerage to be pretentious idiots and he often rolled his eyes whenever he was encouraged to make alliances with them; but Adam was so…so perfect for him. His parents would love Adam; his mom would probably try to adopt him. Why couldn’t Adam have been born be a Royal? Kris wouldn’t mind being married to him and spending his days and nights with Adam. 

“You’re still a virgin?” Adam said, keeping his voice low and sneaking looks around at the other people in the restaurant. Kris didn’t care if anyone knew but he appreciated Adam’s discretion. 

He nodded. “Yup.” 

“Didn’t you have Suitors when you were younger?” 

He smirked. “Of course I did, but I didn’t let any of them touch me.” 

Adam sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. “Look, Mr Allen—“ 

“Call me Kris, please.” 

“Okay, Kris, look, to be honest I think this is kind of _really_ weird—don’t get me wrong, I’m completely flattered that you wanted to meet me but…I’ve had a Suitor when I was younger and, um, I’m not exactly sure why you’d want to be mine.” 

Kris frowned, setting his fork and knife down. “Were you mistreated by your Suitor?” 

“No, no, nothing like that,” he said, laughing a little nervously. “I thought the whole thing was a little…confusing at the time; and to be honest, I don’t really need a Suitor.” 

“I know,” he said, grinning slightly. “That’s part of what makes this so interesting to me. I mean, you’ve got a pretty great career already and you don’t need my money. I just want to spend time with you and…and open the kind of doors you haven’t been able to get through because you’re not a Royal.” 

“I’ve had Royal patronage before who—“ 

“Right, I know, but they didn’t have an invested interest in you as a person,” he said and then smiled, feeling a little shy. “I…there’s a lot that I can do for you.” 

“I…” Adam sighed and chewed on his lip, giving Kris a peeved look. “Kris, I’m…I’m not for sale, okay?” 

Kris’s eyes widened and he stared at Adam. “What? No! No, that’s not what—I’m not offering that! I’d never insult you like that.” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “Whoa, that was…not what I was expecting. Maybe I’m not doing this right, I don’t know, this is the first time I’ve done this but…I want to get to know you and spend time with you and help you with your music and…you know…maybe you could get to know me and let me do things for you because I want to help.” 

Adam gave him a pretty smile. “Well, we can be friends—that sounds more like friendship than anything else.” 

He held Adam’s blue eyes and leaned forward. “I don’t just want to be your friend, Adam. I’m very willing to let you be my First.” 

He watched as Adam blushed, eyelids fluttering a little as he swallowed hard. Kris licked his lips, wondering what it would feel like if he swallowed like that while he was sucking on Kris’s cock.

*** 

“Pull!” 

Kris followed the movement of the clay disk with his double-barrel shotgun, pulling the trigger and feeling the deep recoil of the shotgun against his shoulder. He grinned when the disk exploded at the highest point in the air. 

“Nice shot,” Torres said, his arm curled safely around the barrel of his shotgun, the muzzle pointed at the ground. 

“Thanks,” he murmured, stepping aside to give Torres his shot at Station 4. Kris broke open the barrel to the breech and pulled out the two used shells, handing them to the ammo technician and retrieving two fresh slugs and plopping them into the barrel. He reloaded the shotgun and made sure that the safety was on, watching his friend take his aim. 

Chris Torres was the 2nd son of a Royal family with a ball-busting older sister who was more than happy to run the family businesses, giving Torres a lot of free time to hang out with Kris. He was one of the very few people Kris called friend. He was a lot like Kris: laid back, didn’t really care about Royal politics, and was the perfect partner-in-crime for non-Royal activities once they were old enough to escape their chaperones. They had been friends for years and Kris trusted him with his life. 

Torres shot the disk at the lowest point. “So no money actually exchanges hands?” 

“Good Lord, no,” Kris said, making a face. “He’s not a prostitute, Torres, he’s my _Eromenos_.” 

He watched as Torres ejected and reloaded the shells to his shotgun and the two walked leisurely to Station 5. 

“I’m going to gift things in the Lambert’s name – like I wanted to build a computer center named after Adam’s dad at a dozen local schools,” Kris said, taking up his stance and anchoring his shotgun against his shoulder. “Pull!” 

He followed the disk across the air and waited until it was nearly past the midpoint before taking his shot. 

“And mama and Adam’s mother are starting a foundation to help musically gifted young people get access to instruments, music lessons, money to pay for auditions and trips or whatever, all in Adam’s name,” he said, turning to grin at Torres. “Stuff that’ll honor Adam’s family for allowing me to be his Suitor.” 

“It’s still weird, man,” Torres drawled, softly. He took his aim. “Pull.” 

Kris nodded, watching as Torres took the high shot this time. “Good one.” 

“He’s older than you.” 

“I know,” he said, shrugging. They made their way to Station 6. 

“But I’m not surprised by it,” Torres said, chuckling. “I mean, that you want to be a Suitor to someone older, someone with _experiences_.” 

Kris rolled his eyes. “Man, growing up in a Royal Patrician household was kind of lame. I didn’t get to do anything fun or normal – it was all politics this and politics that. But when I’m with Adam, we just hang out, like I’m just a Citizen, and he doesn’t expect anything from me. We eat pizza and watch movies or go to some dive bar and shoot pool – well, I shoot pool and he pretends that he’s not looking at my butt.” 

Torres laughed, throwing back his head. “I think you’re actually dating.” 

“Yeah, feels kind of like it,” Kris said, nodding. And he was having a great time with Adam, considering that Kris had never dated anyone before. It wasn’t because he wasn’t allowed to date, but just that a person of his status didn’t _date_ arbitrarily. He was _expected_ to court another Royal and get married. 

They finished their rounds at Station 7 and at Station 8, handing over their shotguns to the ammo technician who would clean the weapons and make sure that they were put back into the armory. Kris got behind the wheel of his jeep and took a deep breath. 

“He broke up with his boyfriend,” he said, looking out at the Allen lands. “He said that if we were going to get intimate at some point, he didn’t want to cheat.” 

“You think he was in love with his boyfriend or something?” 

Kris shrugged. “He won’t talk about it with me—and I don’t think I’m in any kind of position to really ask, right?” 

Torres scratched his chin, propping his foot against the dashboard. “Well, he must like you enough to break up with his boyfriend.” He grinned at Kris. “Are you going to let him be your First?” 

Kris laughed. “Thinking about it, yeah.” 

“Like I said, this whole Suitor thing is just bizarre. I mean, maybe when we’re older it’ll make sense to contribute to Society by mentoring someone but…it’s not like we’re of any kind of age to make that kind of difference, you know?” 

“Yeah. Maybe.” He laughed again and started the engine to the jeep. “I’m having dinner with the O’Connell family tonight.” 

Torres gave him a look. “Really?” 

“I know it’s early days yet, but I already know who I’m going to marry. It’ll be one of the O’Connell sisters, the pretty one, Katherine.” 

“Yeah, she’s sweet,” Torres said, smiling. “But what about Adam?” 

Kris chewed on his lip for a moment. “He’s got to know that as a Royal, I have to marry one of my peerage. No matter how open everyone says they are, you know that I’d never be allowed to marry someone like Adam.” 

*** 

“I’d like to get it over with,” Kris said, looking at him across the table. 

Adam nearly choked on his bite of grilled chicken. “Excuse me?” 

“You being my First.” 

“Kris,” he said, sighing deeply. “If you want to ‘get it over with’ then I’m not the guy you want to give your First to.” 

Kris considered it and then nodded. “It’s been two months since I officially became your Suitor. I just thought…I’d like to have you. Don’t you want me?” 

Adam laughed, setting his fork down. “Baby, when I take you to bed, it’s not because you want to just get it over with. It’ll be…something special.” 

“Thanks, that’s very—“ 

“I’m not doing it as a favor. I _do_ want to take you to my bed but I want it to mean something. You’ll never have a First again. It should be worth waiting for.” 

Kris grinned at him, sly and blushing. “Think you can do the job then?” 

Adam picked up the linen napkin from his lap and wiped delicately at his mouth, his blue eyes startlingly dark. That look sent a shiver down Kris’s spine and roiled around in his lower belly. “Pay the bill,” he said, his voice rough and deep. “I’ll have the car brought around.” 

Kris stared at him for a long moment, watching as Adam gave him a smirk, getting to his feet and walking out of the restaurant. He held his head up, shoulders back, long legs moving him fluidly through the dining room and turning a few heads as he passed. Kris dropped his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth, holding up his hand at a passing waiter. 

“Check, please.” 

*** 

Kris loved kissing; over the years, he had experienced a number of different kisses from his Suitors, but he never let the kisses get too out of hand. He never allowed anyone to know him intimately; never got _lost_ in the kisses. Kris didn’t know what he was missing out on until now. 

Adam kissed like he wanted to not just _know_ Kris inside and out, but that he wanted to leave his mark on Kris. At no point did Kris want to slow down or stop or breathe. 

He slammed Kris against the back of the closed door, hard thigh pressing between his legs and pinning him to the door. He licked down Kris’s throat. “Tell me what you want, what you like.” 

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to like everything,” he murmured, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to give Adam room to lick and nip and suck at his neck. A part of him hoped that Adam left marks on him, something he could look at or touch when he was alone—something that belonged to Kris. 

“Fuck,” Adam hissed, grabbing his hand and pulling him down the foyer to the hallway to the stairs. “I’m going to fuck you and then you’re going to fuck me and then we’ll do it all over again in a hundred different positions.” 

Kris chuckled, letting Adam lead him into his bedroom. “Hundred different positions, huh?” 

Adam pushed him down on his back on the large unmade bed and began stripping Kris of his dinner suit and his shoes and socks and boxers. Kris reached up to undress Adam but he slapped his hands away, grabbing him by the wrists and putting them against the covers. “You stay right there; this is my show.” 

He smiled up at Adam, biting his lower lip, meeting the insane look in Adam’s eyes as he pulled off his jacket and his shirt, throwing his clothes on the carpet. He kicked out of his boots and fell on top of Kris wearing just his jeans, covering him, not being delicate about putting his weight on Kris. Adam wasn’t going to treat him like some fragile Royal virgin and Kris was glad, so unbelievably glad. 

Adam attacked his mouth again, long licks against his tongue, a hand in Kris’s hair, jerking his head back and holding him still. 

“Come on, Adam—“ 

“Shut the hell up,” he growled, biting Kris’s earlobe and making him giggle. 

Kris wrapped his arms behind Adam’s neck, trying to pull him in for another kiss but Adam made a noise at the back of his throat and grabbed Kris’s hands, jerking his hands away. “If you’re going to be disobedient, then I’m going to have to punish you.” 

He got up and dug through the pile of clothes to find Kris’s necktie. He looped them around Kris’s wrists and manhandled him across the bed, tying the ends of the tie to the headboard. Kris stared up at him, eyes wide and mouth parted, panting wetly because he forgot how to swallow. 

“Don’t—“ 

Adam kneeled over him, undoing his jeans. He stopped, frowning slightly. “Don’t what?” 

“Just—virgin, remember?” 

Adam gave him a slow smile, unzipping his jeans and licking his hand before slipping it under his pants, fisting his own cock as he looked down at Kris. “Don’t worry, baby, you’ll be screaming but not because you’re in pain.” 

Kris rolled his eyes. 

Adam laughed and leaned over him, turning on one of the bedside lamps. The bright light made Kris squint until his eyes adjusted. Adam moved up the bed until he was kneeling over Kris’s chest. He licked his lips, dropping his eyes to look at Adam’s cock, hard and pushing through the opening of his jeans. Adam leaned forward and rubbed his groin against Kris’s cheek, the scrape of the soft cotton and the zipper teeth dragging against his skin. 

“I can’t believe you never let any of your Suitors ever in your mouth.” 

Kris laughed. “Why would I let them?” 

“Jesus, Kris, open your fucking mouth for me,” Adam husked, looking at him. “Cover your teeth with your lips, like this.” 

Kris looked up to see Adam demonstrate how he wanted Kris to do it and Kris licked his lips slowly, pulling his lips over the edges of his teeth. 

Adam grabbed his cock at the base and lowered the tip of his cock against Kris’s bottom lip. Kris groaned and closed his eyes, shivering, his face probably a dark red. _How did he look?_ His mouth open like some whore waiting to be filled. Trussed up with Adam rubbing his pre-come against Kris’s lips, the muskiness filling Kris’s nose and mouth until the center of his world became Adam’s scent. Adam smelled masculine and woodsy and dark and forbidden. He tentatively stuck out his tongue and licked the head, tasting salty bitter flesh. 

Kris opened his eyes when he heard Adam moan and he realized that he wasn’t just going lay there and _submit_ to Adam. He moved his head forward and wrapped his lips around the head of Adam’s cock, drawing in his cheeks tightly as he sucked. 

Adam hissed and grabbed Kris’s hair, jerking his head back and off. “Little fucker.” 

“What’s the matter? Too hot for you?” Kris said, smirking up at him. “One touch and you can’t take it?”

“If you weren’t a _virgin_ , I’d turn you around and slap your ass purple and fuck you,” Adam snarled at him, tightening his hold on Kris’s hair. 

They stared at each other until Kris flinched from Adam’s hold on his hair. He groaned when Adam smiled, letting go of his hair and stroking his head gently. Kris understood the game, but he wasn’t going to let Adam win. This—this was incredibly fun. He knew Adam wouldn’t really hurt him, but this was not what Kris thought his First would be like. He was expecting something romantic and passionate, sure, but this made him flush hot and cold, part in shame, part in delight, and he _knew_ that Adam was going to be _this_ for him. 

Adam must’ve seen something on Kris’s face because he patted Kris’s cheek mockingly and leaned to the side, opening a drawer from the bedside table and tossed a bottle of lube and condoms on the bed beside them. Adam wiggled his hips and shoved down his jeans, kicking off one leg and then the other, shaking the jean loose from his foot to the end of the bed. He moved up to his knees and grinned, letting Kris look him over, hands moving on his chest and belly, stroking his cock unabashedly, lips curling into a smirk as Kris couldn’t stop looking his fill. 

Because Adam was beautiful, soft and hard, with long lean muscles, and freckles everywhere. Kris would’ve been intimidated at any other time, but the freckles that were scattered all over his skin took away some of Adam’s arrogance, made him more human to Kris. 

He met Adam’s gaze. “I think you’re beautiful.” 

Adam laughed, pleased. “Sweet talker.” 

He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on Kris’s lips, taking an unhurried taste of his mouth. Kris murmured his enjoyment into Adam’s kisses and reached for more when Adam started to pull away. 

“Want me to untie you?” 

Kris shook his head, smiling shyly. 

“Just tell me to stop if it gets too much for you,” he said, kindly. 

He watched, mesmerized, as Adam moved between Kris’s legs, taking him under the knees and pushing his legs up so that his feet were flat on the bed. He stroked his palm up and down on Kris’s cock, making Kris moan softly. He was right; Adam’s hand felt wonderful on him and he wanted more. But Adam chuckled when he raised his hips, pressing his cock harder into Adam’s touch. 

“Come on, Adam—“ 

“Bad boys like you don’t get their cocks sucked,” Adam said, looking at him. “Maybe later, if you _beg_ me nicely.” 

Kris bit his lip when Adam slicked his fingers with the lube, watching Kris when his hand disappeared and Kris felt the firm fingertips against his opening, rubbing and rubbing gently, teasing him. 

“Take a deep breath…”

Kris inhaled and gasped when two fingers pressed into him. He stared at Adam and saw him grinning slightly, blue eyes narrowed as he pushed his fingers deep into Kris without letting him process what had happened. 

“J—jerk!” He hissed through clenched teeth, wriggling his hips, not sure if he was trying to escape or push all the way on his fingers to get it over with. Adam’s fingers slid against his prostate and pressed hard and Kris twitched, thrusting back on Adam’s fingers with a loud, needy moan. “You fuck!” 

Adam laughed, doing it again and again, driving Kris to a point where he kept muttering curse words that he wouldn’t normally speak. “Awww…look at that, I think I found something.” 

“Why don’t you just shut up and fuck me?” He glared at Adam. 

Adam’s smile froze and his eyes narrowed in challenge. He pulled his fingers out and ripped open the condom packet, rolling the condom down his thick length. He smeared lube on his cock and then moved his hands under Kris’s knees, pressing his legs back so far that Kris thought he’d break his spine in half. Adam left one of Kris’s legs over his shoulder, reaching between them and grabbing his own cock, placing the head against Kris’s opening. 

Kris would later admit, while remembering what happened, that he made some kind of whorish whimpering scream. He closed his eyes because it was unbearable to see Adam watching him—watching what he was doing to Kris—and to feel it at the same time. He jerked against the silk of his necktie, burning both of his wrists on the fabric as he struggled, his body trembling and moving under Adam’s merciless weight as his cock slid inside of him, burning a painful path that was meant to make Kris feel owned and taken. 

“Sonofabitch!” Kris hissed, gritting his teeth. “Fucker!” 

Adam moaned, his head thrown back, hands fisting the bedding by Kris’s arms. “Mmm…baby…” 

He let go of Kris’s legs, wrapping them around his back, and leaned down to lick across Kris’s mouth, tasting his lips as Kris panted roughly, breathing through the pain. 

“Remember this for later when you fuck me,” Adam hissed at him, smiling wickedly as he pulled his hips back and thrust into Kris in a hard and steady rhythm. “I like it like this,” he panted, breathless and dark. “You can go long and slow if you want to tease me,” he chuckled as he showed Kris just what long and slow felt like. “And then you can go fast like this, right to the end,” Adam grunted with each fast thrust into Kris. 

Kris stared at the ceiling; each time that Adam thrust his cock into him releasing a sensation that was wholly intense in its newness. He wasn’t sure if his body would ever be the same again after this; he didn’t understand how something that hurt turned into a pleasure he could feel with his entire body, his brain shutting down and focused on nothing but his own greedy need. He was beyond lust now; beyond comprehension of sex as a _thing_ that people did. His breath caught and then broke in his throat and he let out a loud whine as spasms moved through his muscles, his skin, his eyeballs—coming so hard that he felt his come spray on his skin. 

He barely realized that Adam was grunting and coming in him, his heavy body shuddering against Kris and pressing him even harder into the mattress. Kris was breathless and he groaned when Adam lifted his weight off of him, reaching between them to hold the condom as he pulled gently out. He reached up and untied Kris’s wrists, his arms flopping down on the bed. 

Kris blinked, frowning slightly, his butt feeling like a huge opening that would never close. He clenched his muscles and was able to command one of his arms to move, reaching between his legs to gingerly touch himself. He was surprised to find that he wasn’t a gaping hole, just a little sore. Adam sank on the bed on his belly beside Kris, breathing heavily. 

“I feel…I don’t know,” he finally said, chuckling slightly. He really couldn’t think of a word to describe what he felt like. 

Adam turned his head to stare at him. “Feel a little used?” 

“No.” Kris snickered and rolled his eyes. He turned, looking up at the ceiling. “Hey, I got a question.” 

“What is it, baby?” 

“I want to know that when I fuck you if I get to tie you up, too.” 

*** 

Katherine O’Connell was a lovely young woman. Of all the young and eligible daughters of Royal families, Kris liked her best because she wasn’t impressed by him, but she liked him well enough to consider him for marriage. They were both realistic in that they knew they had to get married and produce heirs; it was their Royal obligation, more so for Kris because he was a Royal Patrician. In the grand scheme of things, Kris felt that he was most compatible to Katy. She wasn’t looking for Kris to sweep her off her feet in some whirlwind romance; she was smart and practical; and she was kind-hearted and genuinely nice. It was easy to be with her. Kris felt a deep sense of calmness when he was with her; that he didn’t have to be “on” all the time. 

In many ways, it was like being with Adam. He was easy to get along with, too, but where Kris knew Katy, Adam remained unpredictable. It made him sexy to Kris; he’d never know exactly what was going through Adam’s mind or what he’d do next and Kris enjoyed being surprised by his _Eromenos_. 

He knew that his position as Adam’s Suitor was never meant to be a long-term one. Inevitably, the relationship would end and Kris would remain a close friend, ally, and confidant to Adam for the rest of his life. He would take care of Adam and his family. Being a Suitor came with a lifelong obligation and friendship and Kris wanted to be someone they could rely on after the relationship ended. 

But…Kris didn’t want the relationship to end. Being a Royal Patrician afforded him a lot of luxuries in life and one of them was to have a permanent consort. He wanted to keep Adam close. Katy would have to accept that Adam would be a part of Kris’s life as Adam would have to accept that Kris needed to get married. In an ideal world, Adam and Katy would be friends and there wouldn’t be any jealousy or competition. They both had a place in Society that was accepted and revered; cherished, even. Kris knew he could grow to love Katy; he knew he’d already fallen in love with Adam. 

*** 

The special concert for 500 of Adam’s VIP fans at the Kodak Theatre was a preview of Adam’s upcoming world tour later in the summer. Kris was amazed by the controlled chaos of the backstage and made it a point to stay out of everyone’s way. He found his way to Adam’s private dressing room, flashing his all access badge to the two guards at the door. They nodded and opened the door for him, letting him slip past. 

Adam was dressed in costume, looking tall and out-of-this-world beautiful. “So what do you think?” 

Kris chuckled and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. “Knock ‘em dead, rock star.” 

Adam curled his arms around Kris’s back and pulled him in for a slow, long, and careful kiss. “Don’t mess up my make-up, baby.” 

Kris giggled, looking up at him. “I love this new look; I think your fans are going to go nuts.” 

“Are you going to stay for the whole show?” 

“I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll meet you back at your place later tonight.” 

Adam smiled, petting his hair. “I won’t stay out too late.” 

“No, it’s your night, stay out for as long as you want. Just wake me up when you get in.” 

Adam gave him another kiss and reached down to pat his butt. “You know it.” 

*** 

It was an astonishing show. Kris knew that Adam was talented, but to see him perform on stage with 500 of his biggest fans screaming and singing along, he’d never experienced anything like that before. He stayed through three encores and cheered just as loudly as anyone at the end when they made their final bows. He was determined to give Adam pretty much the world and he had the ability to do it. As he made his way out of the theater, he sent a quick text message to Adam: _fantastic performance; can’t wait to see you later._

*** 

_Get your ass here now!_

Kris stared at the text message from Adam and frowned slightly. 

“Something wrong?” Katy said, looking at him. 

“Just something that I need to take care of,” he said, smiling at her. 

“Do you need to leave now?” 

“It can wait until after the movie,” he told her, leaning back against the couch and letting her put her head back on his shoulder. 

*** 

Kris walked into Adam’s house. “Hey, it’s me.” 

“What the fuck is your problem, Kris?” 

He stared at Adam. “Nice greeting. Maybe you’ll start from the beginning this time and talk to me like I’m your friend.” 

Adam took a deep breath. “I just got off the phone with Lane. I’m pretty sure you already know what the fuck is going on but I’d like to hear it from you.” 

Kris tucked his hands into his pockets. “I met with your label and your management.” 

“Behind my fucking back!” 

“Are you going to listen to what I have to say or just yell at me?” He said, evenly. Adam frowned and made a face, but nodded tersely. “I did have a meeting with your business team. I told them that they needed to give you more creative freedom and a greater percentage of the profits. I told them that as your Suitor, I was prepared to create an independent label for you and pay for your worldwide marketing in a way that you wanted, with less bureaucracy and a lot more money coming to you.” 

Adam stared at him, opening his mouth and then closing it. “What?” 

“I just got you 80% gross profit from your album sales, tours, business merchandise. Not only that, you get to choose your own producers for your next album, people that you couldn’t reach because you’re a Citizen and because your label has such a hold on your contract.” 

“Why?” 

Kris gave him a small grin. “Because you love what you do and you shouldn’t have to be beholden to anyone, not even to your own business team.” 

Adam bit his lip and exhaled noisily. “Kris, you don’t have to make those kinds of decisions for me.” 

“I’m your Suitor, I have—“ 

“You don’t have the fucking _right_ to make those decisions for me without talking about it with me first!” Adam stepped closer to him. “This is _my_ career. I worked my ass off to get here. And yeah, you’re right, being a Citizen only gets me so far, but I’m doing everything I can to make it in this business.” 

“I told you that I wanted to help you; that I was going to use my status as a Royal Patrician to do whatever I could to help you,” he said through clenched teeth. “Why are you so pissed off at me? I’ve gotten you a deal that you never would’ve been able to get on your own.” 

“But it was my deal, Kris!” 

Kris took a deep breath and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. “I want you to have everything you want, Adam.” 

“Then talk to me about it first instead of going behind my back like I was some stupid new kid on the block,” he said, the anger easing from his voice. “I already went through enough bullshit when I was starting out, I don’t expect to have to go through it again and certainly not with you.” 

Kris nodded. “Okay.” 

“Okay.” 

“Can I tell you one more thing?” 

Adam rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine, what else did you do?” 

“If you want to go independent, I can put up the investment capital to help you form your own label and find talent that you want to sponsor and promote.” 

Adam stared at him, his mouth dropping open. 

Kris shrugged. “It’s part of being your Suitor and Royal patron. I wasn’t trying to do anything to take away your power or your choices. I just wanted to use whatever influence I have to make sure you get what you want.” He ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck. “You still pissed at me?” 

“Yeah,” Adam murmured, voice low and playful. Kris looked up at him and groaned at the way that Adam’s eyes were lowered and there was nothing playful in that expression. He pushed Kris against the wall, pinning him with his body. “I should be so fucking pissed at you, coming into my life like the way that you did, pushing your way in like you’re entitled to be here.” 

Kris grinned, reaching up and grabbing a handful of his dark hair. “You like me here.” 

“I do,” Adam hissed, kissing him deeply, tongue sweeping into Kris’s mouth. “Get your ass upstairs.” 

He tightened his hold on Adam’s hair and tugged hard, pulling his head back and licking up the long line of Adam’s neck. “ _You_ get your ass upstairs.” 

*** 

Kris arched over Adam, holding his shoulders down against the mattress. He watched as his cock moved slowly into Adam’s body and felt Adam trembling under him. 

“You’re such a fucking punk,” Adam said, groaning deeply. He pushed his hips back, trying to get Kris to move faster. 

“You said you liked it slow.” 

“I said if you wanted to tease me!” 

Kris chuckled, bending down to kiss the back of his neck. “I do want to tease you. I want to hear you beg.” 

Adam groaned and then let out a little laugh. “Oh God, I created a monster. Please, Kris, come on, _please please_ —“ 

He bit his lip, concentrating on not coming, as he pushed in slowly, nearly getting lost in the way that Adam was so tight and welcoming around him, feeling every inch of his cock being engulfed as he slid in slowly, all the way in, until he was pressed tightly against his behind. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, pressing down so that his hips were flush against Adam, nearly slipping off because of their sweat-covered bodies. 

Kris watched as Adam’s hands clung to the bed sheets having pulled them off the top corners of the mattress, his head moving against the bed. They both moaned when Adam clenched around Kris’s cock, tightening around him as he gave a hard thrust. 

“Please, baby…” 

He let go of Adam’s shoulders and fell over his back, hands rubbing down the tense muscles of his arms as he tangled his fingers with Adam’s, holding on tightly. He panted as he began to thrust into him, pulling out just enough so that the head of his cock was pressing against his prostate as Adam rocked back against him. 

“Just like this,” he said, breathing heavily. “Just like this, just like this—“ 

“Fuck!” Adam croaked, shuddering. “Yeah, yeah, fuck!” 

Kris pressed his forehead against Adam’s shoulder, using his knees to power into him, over and over again, Adam’s hands nearly crushing his fingers as he squeezed them in desperation. 

“Close! Close! Come on, don’t stop, please!” 

Adam let out a muffled yell and started bucking back against Kris, nearly unseating him until Kris gritted his teeth and bore down, holding Adam down against the bed as he wriggled helplessly, feeling him spasm around his cock in a hard rhythm. Kris groaned loudly and froze over Adam, hanging on to him as he trembled through the pleasure. 

He collapsed over Adam and gasped. “Wow.” 

Adam chuckled, catching his breath. He turned his head to look at Kris. “Fuck, if that’s your version of an apology then I accept.” 

Kris kissed his cheek and closed his eyes. “I’m keeping you forever.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kris rubbed his eyes and walked out of his bedroom and down the hallway to the living room to see several of his friends sprawled out over various pieces of furniture. He grinned to himself, heading into the kitchen to put on some industrial strength coffee. He debated whether or not to shower; it wasn’t like he had any plans today – well, to be honest, Kris didn’t really have “plans” for any of his days. 

He had to admit that he really enjoyed his life as a gentleman of leisure. He had already come into the first of five trust funds when he turned fifteen, increasing every five years. He dabbled a bit in real estate; finding old warehouses and converting them to private units and then selling them for a tidy profit. His bachelor pad was one of the units in a gentrified area off La Brea. 

Kris supposed that he could work a steady nine-to-five type of job, but he really wasn’t that motivated. He liked having his days to himself, doing whatever it was that he wanted. Every now and then, while driving through the city, he would come across residential space that he thought was interesting and spent months working with his builders and contractors, creating space that would make a perfect home for others. It certainly wasn’t philanthropy since his real estate properties sold for millions, but the money he made from his sales, Kris did put towards charities for non-Citizens. 

The coffee maker made a soft ding and he poured himself a large cup, inhaling the first cup quick enough to scald his tongue. 

“God, please say that you made coffee,” Torres said, hand over his eyes as he made his way into the kitchen. 

“Knock yourself out, dude,” he said, smiling. 

“Why did I drink so much last night?” Torres poured himself a large cup and dumped half the sugar bowl into his cup. “I hate having a hangover.” He sipped the hot coffee and closed his eyes, sighing deeply. “One day, I will learn my lesson.” 

Kris chuckled, fondly. In all the years that he had known Torres – and he said this every time – they had yet to “learn” their lesson. 

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” 

He shrugged, looking into the dark liquid of his coffee. “Probably go back to bed for a couple of hours, play some music, go see Katy, I don’t know, whatever, man.” 

“So where’s Adam now?” 

Kris grinned. “What’s today? Tuesday? He’s probably in Pittsburgh now? Or somewhere in Jersey? I have to check my iPhone schedule to know for sure. Maybe I can fly out to see him this weekend.” 

Torres raised his eyebrow. “I don’t know how you do it – court one for marriage and romance the other for love.” 

“Makes life interesting.” He put his coffee cup on the counter and scratched at his scalp. “I asked Katy to marry me. I told dad and he’s going to work things out with her dad. Katy said she wanted to a fall wedding so we’re thinking of September.” 

“Of _this_ year?” 

“Yeah, why not? There’s no reason to wait.” He eyed Torres, raising his eyebrow. “That’s all you’re gonna say to me?” 

Torres laughed and shook his head, coming towards Kris to hug him. “Dude, what I should’ve said was congratulations, I’m happy for you. It’s about time someone made you into a respectable gentleman.” 

Kris patted his back and chuckled. “Thanks, Torres, you’ll be my Best Man, right?” 

“You bet,” he said, smiling widely. “Never thought I’d see the day.” 

He snorted, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like I have a choice – well, I have a choice _now_ but if I waited any longer, mama would’ve taken things into her own hands.” 

“What about Adam? Does he know yet?” 

Kris made a face and shook his head, letting out a deep breath. “I’m going to have to tell him at some point, yeah.” 

Torres looked at Kris for a long moment and Kris knew what he wasn’t asking. 

“I don’t want to lose him.” 

“There’s certain…expectations…when you get married.” 

Kris grinned at him, wiggling his eyebrows. “Marital duties?” 

He watched as his friend laughed. “I’m just saying that you’re going to be expected to fulfill your duties as her husband and…Adam broke up with his boyfriend. For you.” 

“I know,” he murmured, softly. “But it’s not the same. I’m not in love with her the way that I am with Adam. I want him to be my official Consort…and Katy’s okay with things the way they are.” 

“Yeah, because she’s going to be married to the _Royal Patrician_. It’s not like she’s going to put up a stink now about it. She’s going to play it cool with you, get you to marry her, and once it’s done, she’s going to want changes.” 

“No, come on, she’s not like that,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

“It’s true,” Torres said, sipping his coffee. “She gets to be the wife of the Royal Patrician—“ 

“But Adam becomes the Royal Patrician Consort,” he said, sharply. He held up his hand in apology for his tone and flinched. 

“He loses power as soon as Katy has a child.” 

Kris deflated, falling against the counter. He nodded at the truth of Torres’s words. 

“You could always just let him go—“ 

“That’s not an option, dude,” he said, frowning. 

Torres took a deep breath and gave him an understanding smile. “Look, Kris, you know I’m not saying these things to piss you off but...how does Adam feel about you?” 

“I’m pretty sure he likes me. A lot.” 

“He’s your Eromenos.” 

Kris scratched his chin. “And?” 

“How many of _your_ Suitors did you fall in love with?” 

He sucked in a breath, feeling his stomach clench. He stared at the ground. “Damn it, Torres, why do you got to be my Devil’s Advocate?” He made a face and then looked up at his friend. “So you think he only cares about me because I’m his Suitor?” 

“Maybe you should ask him and find out?” Torres said, kindly. 

Kris leaned his head back and closed his eyes. A part of him wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer – didn’t want Adam to just like him or want him because he was Adam’s Suitor.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo Credit: http://www.mr-l.org/tag/wife/

Kris knew it was stupid to feel _resentful_ that Adam was on tour, living his rock star dream to the hilt. After all, a great deal of Kris’s money, influence, and support went into making that happen for Adam. He wanted it as much as Adam wanted it. And Kris knew, deep down, that it was juvenile of him to feel that way, but he _missed_ Adam a lot – more than he thought he would, truth be told. 

_Torres stared at him. “What do you mean by ‘resentful’, man?”_

_Kris sighed, rubbing his faces with his hands. “No, that’s not the right word.” He scratched his chin. “I didn’t think it would be like this – being apart from him for so long.”_

_“You have a private jet, don’t you?”_

_Kris rolled his eyes. “Yeah.”_

_Torres sighed and shook his head. “Kris.”_

_“Oh.” He said, laughing. “Well, damn. Duh.”_

_The elegantly raised eyebrow was all Torres needed to say._

Kris flew out to see Adam whenever he had a hotel night. They would order in half the room service menu and gorge themselves on food and alcohol, Kris lounging against the plush hotel bed as Adam excitedly told him about being on tour. 

“It’s still so amazing, Kris! I don’t think it’ll ever get old, no matter how many times I’m on stage. Every night, it’s a different venue, different audience, and a different vibe. But the one thing that’s the same, no matter where I am, it’s just -- all these people screaming my name!” Adam said, scrambling to his feet on the bed and jumping up and down, hard enough so that Kris bounced with him, laughing breathlessly. “Ad-dam! Ad-dam! Ad-dam!” 

“I’m getting seasick, man.” 

Adam laughed, dropping to his knees and tossing Kris on his back against the pillows, looking down at him with dark eyes. He licked his lips and smiled at Kris, cupping his hand over the front of his pants, rubbing his palm over his bulge. Kris couldn’t look away, his heart racing as Adam put on a private dirty show for him. 

“Some nights, I’m so horny after a show…I can’t even make it to the bus to jerk off,” Adam murmured, wickedly. 

Kris snickered, rolling his eyes. “Ohhhhhh, poor baby, tell me how _hard_ it is to be a rock star.” 

“You’re such a little bitch, Kris.” Adam chuckled, leaning over him and licking messily at his bottom lip. “Do you know how many pretty twinks line up outside waiting for me? And not just the boys, but sometimes girls. Older, younger. All of them wanting something from me – a picture, an autograph, a smile, a few minutes of my attention – but there’s always a handful who want more – who’d give _me_ more.” 

Kris wasn’t stupid; he knew very well that Adam could have his pick. He frowned slightly, looking up at him. “I don’t care about that.” 

“Don’t you, baby?” He ran his hand under Kris’s head and grabbed a handful and jerked Kris’s head back, making him moan and close his eyes. “Every one of those pretty boys would get on their knees and let me fuck their mouths. Even some of the girls.” He licked Kris’s cheek and bit his earlobe. “Some of them would let me fuck them in my dressing room or in the bathroom. All of them wanting to just break off a piece.” 

“Adam—“ Kris croaked, his hands curling around Adam’s hips and pulling him down over him. 

He tightened his hold on Kris’s hair, a little painful now. He moved up so that his knees were parted wide by Kris’s shoulders. 

“Hey—“

“Shhh…” Adam crooned, grinning at him. “Open my pants." 

Kris was helpless, all he could do was obey. He reached up to undo Adam's tight pants, gently pulling down the zipper as he looked up into Adam's eyes, his gaze thoughtful and interested as he looked down at Kris. 

"I'm going to fuck your mouth, fuck you all the way down your throat, come in your mouth until you're gagging on it." 

"Ad--" 

Kris let out a sound of want, closing his eyes as Adam ruthlessly popped the head of his cock into Kris's mouth. He groaned, arching his neck as he felt Adam slip further into his mouth, so dangerously close to choking him. Adam clung to the top of the headboard as he stared at Kris with slitted eyes, lips curved in a smirk as he gently rolled his hips. 

"That's right, baby," Adam murmured softly. "You'll be my pretty twink tonight, won't you, Kristopher?" 

Kris grabbed the back of Adam's pants and opened his eyes to look up at him, pulling him in closer and relaxing his throat until Adam was as deep as he could go inside his mouth. 

Adam arched his back and threw back his head. "Yes...yes, fuck, yes...yes..." 

*** 

But when he wasn’t with Adam, Kris was depressed. Well, not depressed…more like… _lingering_ around in a half life waiting for the next time he could fly out to see Adam. It was a long four months and Kris accepted that this was Adam’s life now. He would be home in two weeks and Kris stared at the wall calendar in his kitchen, bouncing on his feet as he marked off each day. 

*** 

[](http://s769.photobucket.com/albums/xx337/house_of_lantis/?action=view&current=kris-allen-katy.jpg)

**THE LOS ANGELES TIMES  
Around Town **

_Royal Patrician Kristopher Allen Engaged!_

_Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but Royal Patrician Kristopher Allen is officially off the market. Who nabbed the charming, but notoriously publicity-shy Royal? None other than Katherine “Katy” O’Connell, daughter of a minor Royal family. No date has been revealed, but the upcoming social event of the decade will be held in a few months._

_“Katy would like an autumn wedding; she’s always dreamed of being married in an old stone church with a garden reception,” says a close friend. “She’s so happy! She’s going to be a great wife and mother.”_

**The Official Statement**

_Royal Patrician Neil Allen is delighted to announce the engagement of Royal Patrician Heir Kristopher to Miss Katherine O’Connell. The wedding will take place in the Fall later this year in Los Angeles. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course._

_Kristopher and Katherine became engaged this month at a private family gathering. Being a traditionalist, he asked Katherine’s father for her hand in marriage and consulted with his parents, who quickly agreed to the engagement. They made the happy announcement during coffee and dessert. Following the marriage, the couple plans to stay in Los Angeles where Kristopher will step into the role as Royal Patrician and Katherine plans to continue teaching._

*** 

Adam stared at the picture of Kris walking with the pretty blonde woman. He narrowed his eyes and crumpled the print out of the LA Times article in his hands, throwing it across his hotel room. 

 

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Kris knew that Adam was back in Los Angeles for two weeks but every time he called, it would go straight to voicemail or Adam was terse and distracted or “too busy” to talk; and every time Kris went to Adam’s house to see him, no one came to the door – even though Kris _knew_ Adam was actually _inside_ the damned house. 

He didn’t know what was going on with Adam. He reached out to Adam’s personal assistant, Carla, but she didn’t have much to tell him and her answers always left Kris feeling vaguely annoyed. 

“Maybe he really is busy and he doesn’t have time to hang out with you,” Cale said, moving his rook across the board. “He’s probably got a lot of demands, you know, with his management and label. This tour probably kicked his career even higher before you guys met. You should cut him a break and let him just decompress or something.” 

Kris rolled his eyes. “He wasn’t too busy to see me before he went on tour – or even when he was on tour. But ever since he came back, it’s like he’s shutting me out and I don’t know why.” 

Cale glanced at him. “You piss him off?” 

And that was why Kris was friends with Cale Mills. They met through Torres and Kris liked hanging out with him because Cale spoke his mind. He didn’t care about Royal or Citizen or Non-Citizen pretentiousness. Cale was a Citizen, from one of the wealthier families, and if his folks ever put forth a petition, Kris was pretty sure that the Mills could’ve been elevated to minor Royal status. But Cale’s parents were New Egalitarians and philanthropists who didn’t care about status. The Mills spent half the year traveling around the world fundraising to help Non-Citizens. 

“Are you kidding me?” Kris said, barking out a laugh. “What do you mean I pissed him off? I didn’t do anything. Hell, I haven’t seen him enough over the past few months to piss him off.” He frowned, staring at the chess board and moving his pawn one space. “He’s starting to piss me off with the cold shoulder he’s giving me.” 

Cale chuckled, hand cupping the side of his face as he contemplated the nine pieces that were still on the board. “Look, the next time you talk to him, just say that you’re sorry.” 

“What am I supposed to be sorry for?” 

“That doesn’t matter,” he said, grinning. “Tell him you’re sorry and wing it.” 

Kris rolled his eyes. “Does that tactic actually work in real life?” 

“It does for me,” Cale said, winking at Kris. “When Katie’s giving off signs that she’s pissed off at me about something, I just suck it up and apologize. And then I let her rant a little so I can figure out what she’s mad about and then I make it all better.” 

“You’re an idiot,” he said, good-naturedly. “It’s a wonder that Katie married you in the first place.” 

Cale laughed and nodded. “I’m not arguing you on that.” He moved his knight and took Kris’s pawn, opening him up for Kris to take the knight with his bishop. 

“Why did you sacrifice your knight like that, man?” He said, scratching his chin. “You could’ve put my queen in check with that knight in like seven moves.” 

“Keep looking.” 

Kris stared at the board, quickly analyzing all the different moves, and let out a groan when he saw what Cale saw – by sacrificing his knight, it put him in position to take Kris’s king in five moves – pawn to king 4. “Damn it.” He knocked over his king and sat back, giving Cale a small grin of admiration. “I resign.” 

“You owe me $15,000.” 

“Damn it,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Fine. I’ll settle with you tomorrow.” 

Cale laughed softly and sat back, stretching out his back. “So how many groomsmen are you going to have in the ceremony?” 

“Katy said she only wanted one maid of honor and three bridesmaids,” he said, resetting the chess pieces on the board. “Torres is my best man, so it’ll be Dan, you, and…I need one more guy.” 

“Ever thought about asking Adam?” 

Kris looked up at him. “Adam? No way, he wouldn’t…” He thought about it for a moment, wondering what it would be like to have Adam stand by him on his wedding day. He grinned to himself a little and shrugged. “I don’t know…I mean, it’d be great but…” 

“Crossing the line a little?” Cale said, raising his eyebrows. “Katy might not approve?” 

He frowned, turning the chess board so that the black pieces were in front of him this time. “I don’t think she has a say in who I ask to be my groomsmen.” 

Cale picked up his white pawn and moved it to e4. “Dude, you do know that you can’t keep Adam as a lover after you’re married.” 

He stared at his closest friend, moving his black pawn to c5. “I can if he’s my Royal Consort.” 

“You’d do that?” 

“Yeah.” 

Cale stared at the board and then looked at Kris. “You pissed at me or something?” 

“No, why?” 

He watched as Cale gestured to his black pawn. “You don’t usually open aggressively right out the gate. Going for the Sicilian offensive?” 

Kris smiled, shaking his head. “It’s not personal, dude, just business.” He laughed while Cale rolled his eyes. Kris took a deep breath and let it out. “I just don’t like it when people tell me whether or not I can still have Adam in my life after I get married.” 

“Does he know?” 

Kris rolled his eyes. “Of course he gets it.” 

“I mean, about your wedding.”

“He knows what all of this means – it means _nothing_ when it comes down to it, you know, when it’s me and Adam? I like Katy, sure, and we both know that this is our duty – but Adam’s mine. That’s all anyone needs to know.” 

“What did he say about it?” 

Kris shrugged. “Haven’t said anything to him yet.” 

“What?” 

He looked up at Cale to see the surprise on his face. “I haven’t told Adam. I don’t need to. It’s outside our relationship as Suitor and Eromenos.” 

“Well, damn, Kris, give him some courtesy,” Cale said, frowning at him. “It’s all over the news. He’s probably heard about it already. And you didn’t tell him before it all came out?” 

He shook his head. “What’s the big deal?” 

“What’s the--? The big deal is that you should’ve said something to him first, even if it was just to say, ‘hey Adam, I’m fulfilling my Royal Patrician Heir duties and getting married.’” 

Kris sat back in his chair. “Cale, no matter what happens to me and Katy or me and anyone else, it doesn’t matter. Adam and I have our own thing going on. I’m going to ask him to be my Consort. It’s going to give him some power and it’s going to elevate his status by being attached to my family name—“ 

“You don’t get it, Kris!” Cale said, his voice rising slightly. “You told everyone else – you told all your friends that you were going to ask Katy to marry you – hell, your dad made a freaking public announcement – but you didn’t say a word to _him_? That’s chicken shit bull crap and you know it.” 

“He’s not going to be upset about it,” he said, smiling with a little bit of amusement at Cale. “And I think it’s awesome that you’re defending his honor or whatever, but it’s not necessary. Adam doesn’t care about any of this crap. We’re good. I swear.” 

He watched as Cale shook his head, pushing over his king and resigning the game. “Kris, I don’t think this is going to go the way that you think it’s going to go.” 

Kris stared at the board. “You could’ve put me in check in twelve moves.” 

“I know,” he said, waving his hand. “I’m just saying – like, let’s be hypothetical – but what if Adam’s upset about this? What’re you going to do then?” 

“He’s not—“ 

“He’s been giving you the cold shoulder ever since he got back, right? Maybe he is pissed at you – pissed at you about this.” 

Kris sighed and shook his head. “Cale, it’s not going to be a problem. You worry way too much about this kind of stuff.” 

“You don’t worry enough.” 

“I don’t worry at all,” he said, shrugging. 

“I like Adam – all of us like Adam. He’s a good guy, he’s talented, and he puts us all to shame…and I love you, man, you’re my friend…I don’t want to see you get hurt out of this – either of you.” 

He frowned, rubbing his face. He felt a shiver go up his spine and he glanced up at Cale, wondering if he was predicting something that Kris didn’t see coming. He dropped his hand on top of his thighs and rubbed his palms on his legs. 

“Yeah, thanks man, but I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as you make it out to be,” he said, smiling slightly. “And if Adam’s not happy about things, I’ll make it up to him. I’ll take him on a trip, just the two of us, and we can work things out before the wedding. I still think you’re being a little dramatic, dude, but I’ll think about what you said. Okay?” 

Cale gave him a long look and then sighed, leaning on the table. “I just want everything to work out for you, Kris.” 

“I know,” he said, chuckling. “Come on, reset the board, let’s play one more game and then I’ll buy you a beer. You look like you need one.” 

***** 

He was fed up with the radio silence from Adam and decided that he’d find Adam and find out what the heck was going on with him; why he was freezing Kris out. A part of him worried that Adam wanted to end their Suitor-Eromenos relationship and if that was the case, Kris was – he was willing to listen, but he didn’t want to end things. He would do whatever necessary to convince Adam that they should stay together, that they could work through whatever it was that was bothering him. 

Kris ended up parking the car two streets over from Adam’s house because the entire street was lined with cars. He frowned as he punched in the code to the walk-in gate and made his way up the gated driveway to the front door, music pouring out of the house. _What the hell was going on? Why didn’t Adam call him?_

He walked to the front door, looking at the two men hanging about the doorway. The shorter of the two had dark brown hair and wide eyes. He wore tight black lycra briefs and dark blue flowers that looked real. He was adorably slutty in the best way, Kris thought. And on closer inspection, he could’ve been Kris’s twin. 

The other man was just as slender but a little taller. Where the shorter man was dark, he was fair. He was dressed in what looked like loose white linen pajama bottoms and from the dark outline and shadows underneath, not much else. They both turned and looked at Kris, giving him a look of want and curiosity. 

The shorter man, not much older than Kris, put his foot up on the wall, stopping him from going inside. 

“Well, now, who is this?” 

Kris grinned at him. “I’m a friend of Adam’s.” 

The other man laughed. “Oh honey, _everyone_ is a friend of Adam’s tonight.” And with that, he curled his slender arm around Kris’s neck and pressed a kiss on his lips. 

“Whoa,” Kris said, chuckling slightly. He pulled the other man away. “Shouldn’t we exchange names first before you put your tongue down my throat?” 

“Aww, he’s shy, Cassidy,” the man said, licking his lips and smiling prettily at Kris. “I’m Brad, this is Cas.” 

“My name’s Kris.” 

“All right, Kris, that’ll be a hundred dollars and show me your cock and we’ll call it even.” 

Kris smirked. “How is that even?” 

“You want in the house, it’s cash and cock,” he said, smiling widely at Kris. 

“What’s going on here?” 

“If you don’t know, then you don’t belong. Now shoo, pretty Kris, and let the big boys play.” 

“It’s Adam’s sixth ‘an-ual’ sex party,” Cassidy said, giving Kris a long look. “You look familiar – have we met before? Did I fuck you in a club?” 

Kris laughed and shook his head. “Uh, no. Sorry.” 

Cassidy cocked his head, looking Kris up and down. “Yeah, you’re more Adam’s type. First time at one of these?”

“Yeah.” 

“You really are fucking adorable,” he murmured, touching Kris’s neck. His hand was warm and dry on Kris’s damn skin. “I love orgy virgins.” 

“Orgy—what—“ 

“He could be a starfucker out for glory – or maybe he’s a paparazzi looking for a story to sell.” 

“Brad, you’re always so suspicious,” the taller man said, laughing. He looked at Kris. “Seriously, if you want in the house, pay the house fee and show Brad your cock.” 

He stared at the two of them and realized that he really wasn’t going to be able to get inside to see Adam if he didn’t do this. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and found a hundred dollar bill tucked in the back. He handed it over to Brad who took it with a coy little smirk on his lips while Cassidy gave Kris a white plastic trash bag. 

“What do I do with this?” He said, putting his wallet away. 

“Cock or not?” 

Kris sighed and rolled his eyes, undoing his jeans and pulling the top of his boxer briefs down to show them his dick. 

“Hmmm…that’s nice.” 

“Do you top? Please say yes. I’ll give you the best blowjob you’ve ever gotten,” Brad said, giggling a little as he swayed closer to Kris. 

Kris pushed him away gently and then did up his pants. “Do you know where Adam is?” 

“It’s more like where Adam isn’t,” Cassidy said, raising his eyebrow. “Put your clothes in the bag, seal it with duct tape, put your name on it, and throw it into the closet.” 

“Yeah,” he drawled, shaking his head. _Uh, no._

Kris shouldered past the two of them and walked into the house…and swallowed thickly, stunned by the smell of sex and pot in the air, mixed in loud groans over the music. 

On every available surface, he saw naked men, kissing and touching, sucking and fucking, moans and laughter and rough grunts in the air. Some were in pairs, some were in…multiple pairings, Kris couldn’t tell from his quick glance at the sea of men’s bodies. He felt his heart racing, his face heating up, as he tried not to gawk at them. 

What the hell was Adam doing hosting an _orgy_ at his house? 

Slowly, he made his way around the living room and down the hallway, checking each room to see if Adam was in any of them. 

_”Look at him.”_

_“Mmm…fresh meat.”_

_“Hey, baby, come here and I’ll suck your cock.”_

_“Adam always finds the best fucking twinks for his parties.”_

Kris blushed as he waved off exploring hands and naughty offers as he made his way to the staircase to the second floor. He looked down into the open living room and saw nothing but beautiful naked male flesh and by the time he made it to Adam’s bedroom door, he was hard and a little breathless. 

He heard giggling on the other side and the familiar sound of Adam’s cajoling voice – his loud moan of pleasure – and Kris turned the doorknob and shoved the door open…

To reveal Adam lounging on his bed surrounded by four naked and equally gorgeous young men; all of them pinning Adam down and taking their turn kissing, touching, licking, and sucking him. Adam laughed, head hanging off the end of the bed, his eyes closed, writhing happily against the sheets. 

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Kris was reserved with his emotions and his actions, which was ironic because his parents and younger brother weren’t afraid of showing their feelings and affection to family and very close inner circle of friends. But he was raised knowing how to conduct himself in public, outside the security of his own group of trusted friends and confidantes, and Kris was a dutiful Royal Patrician. 

To the public and the curiosity-seekers, Kris was a mystery because he stayed off the pages of the tabloids and he led a quiet life. They playfully referred to him as the “Hermit Heir” and the “Gentle Patrician” because Kris stayed out of the spotlight. And even when his Royal duties compelled him to make official public appearances, he was subdued and polite; friendly and generous – but he always maintained a certain distance. 

He was certain that his friends knew him and understood him; he could drop his guard with them and he didn’t need to censor himself, the constant pressure of his public filter lifting for a little while. They knew him well, but they didn’t know him _intimately_. Only Adam knew him like that. It wasn’t just the sex, because Adam wanted more than that, he wanted to know _Kris_ and Kris told Adam things about himself that no one else knew. 

So as he watched as the pretty boys pawed at Adam, he wasn’t sure what he was feeling – turned on, angry, confused, betrayed – and he stepped further into the room, frowning slightly as one of the boys looked up at him. 

“Ohhh Adam, he should come and play, too,” one of them murmured, giving Kris an inviting look that made him shiver. 

Adam opened his eyes and looked up at Kris, a slow hot smile forming on his lips. “Hey baby, come to join the fun?” 

Kris cleared his throat. “I need to talk to you. Can you ask your _friends_ to give us some privacy?” 

Adam laughed and turned on the bed, moving to his belly and propping his upper body up on his elbows. He raised his eyebrow, long black bangs falling into his eyes. “Uh, no. I’m in the _middle_ of something and after all of these cute boys get a chance to suck my cock, I’m going to fuck them, so I’m a little busy now. Why don’t you come back later? I might even have a little energy to fuck you, too.” 

The other guys giggled, cuddling around Adam. 

Kris narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, staring at the challenge in Adam’s eyes. “Get them out of here, Adam.” 

“You’re seriously going to come into my house – my bedroom – and tell me what to do?” Adam snorted, rolling his eyes. “I don’t think so, honey.” 

“I can’t believe you’re risking your career on a stupid sex party!” 

Kris blushed when everyone in the room laughed at him, but he stood his ground and stared at Adam. 

Adam smirked. “Ahh…coming to check on your investment? I was wondering when you were going to pull that card.” 

“Get them out of here.” 

“Hey, sweetie, why don’t you just chill out?” One of the twinks said to Kris, running his hand down Adam’s freckled back to curl around his plump ass cheek. He pushed at Adam’s hip to reveal Adam’s hard cock, curling his hand around it and stroking teasingly as Adam threw back his head and moaned in delight. “There’s enough of him to go around, we can all share.” 

Adam snickered, leaning over to kiss him, but he kept his eyes on Kris. “Yeah, baby, you can _share_ , right?” 

“He looks like he’s about to have a stroke,” another twink said, grinning up at Kris. “Strip and get on the bed. Come on, cutie, we won’t bite.” 

“He looks like he’d enjoy getting bitten.” 

Kris bit his lip. 

They giggled at him. “Ohhh, now that is a mouth made to suck cock.” 

Adam moaned and then laughed, his hand buried in the hair of the brown-haired man sucking on his balls. “Yeah, it is _now_ , but when he first started, it was all teeth and drool and gagging.” 

The boys laughed and Kris thought they looked like a pack of hyenas – predatory and knowing and waiting to tear him down. 

Kris swallowed and took a deep breath, dropping his eyes to the floor. In his entire life, he had never felt so exposed or so…humiliated. No one had ever treated Kris like this; never examined him and found him lacking. His Suitors had always shown him affection and respect, never complaining that he was a tease, never finding fault with him. But now, to be witness to this…

“God, Adam, what the fuck did you to do him? He looks like he’s about to cry,” another twink said, a note of compassion in his voice. “Maybe you should talk to him—“ 

“Fuck, no way, he’s had his turn,” one of them complained. 

Kris felt his face heat up even more and he clutched at the hem of his tee-shirt. Maybe that was true; maybe that’s all he was to Adam, just a _turn_. 

“So who is he?” 

Adam chuckled, sighing loudly. “Just my Suitor.” 

“Your Suitor?” 

“You’re an Eromenos?” 

The guys started talking over each other, untangling themselves from Adam as they got off the bed. 

“Jesus, Adam, why didn’t you say something?” 

“This is too much drama for me.” 

“Aww, come on, don’t leave me with him,” Adam said, laughing as he playfully grabbed at the boys getting off the bed. “It’s not like he has a say in what I do.” 

He flicked his eyes up to see them staring at him, waiting. Kris raised his chin and stared at the far wall as the men leaned over to kiss Adam goodbye. 

“He’s your Suitor,” one of the twinks said, stroking Adam’s head. He gazed at Kris for a long moment. “And I don’t think he’s given his permission for you to play with us.” 

“Fine, be like that,” Adam murmured, wistfully. 

Kris moved towards the wall as the four of them headed out of the bedroom. One of them stopped in front of Kris and he managed to look up at him. 

“Hey, we didn’t know.” 

He gave a small nod and leaned against the wall as they closed the door, leaving him alone with Adam. 

Adam sighed and rolled on his back, long arms and legs sprawled out on the mattress. “Well, fuck, Kris.” He turned his head and glanced at Kris, blue eyes narrowed in anger. “What the hell do you want?” 

“What the hell do I want?” Kris said, glaring at him. “What the hell is all this, Adam? I’ve been trying to talk to you and see you since you came back from tour! And I come over to see you doing this?” 

Adam smirked and waved his hand at him. “Whatever. Asshole.” 

“Why am I the asshole? You’re the one who’s fucking around with a bunch of twinks behind my back!” 

Adam scrambled to his knees on the bed to face him. Kris couldn’t help staring at his body, too thin from being on tour, hard cock swinging between his thighs. Kris flicked his eyes away to meet Adam’s steely gaze. “Behind _your_ back? That’s fucking rich coming from you! What the fuck have you been doing behind my back?” 

“I’m not doing anything behind your back!” 

“Oh, well, then I guess congratulations aren’t in order for your recent engagement! Nice picture of you and the future wife, by the way. I hope you’ll both like the fucking sterling silver tea set that I’m going to give you as your wedding present!” 

Kris opened his mouth and then stared at him. “What?” 

Adam got off the bed and rolled his eyes at Kris, walking towards his dresser. “Did you just forget to tell me or was I not worth your fucking time to bother mentioning your engagement? I haven’t received my invitation to your wedding, which I hear is going to be the social event of the decade.” Adam lit a joint and took several deep hits, holding his breath as he glared at Kris. He exhaled noisily and walked to the low armchair on the other side of his bedroom, sinking into the cushions. “I mean, I am invited to the wedding, right, or did my invitation get lost in the mail?” 

“That’s not—that doesn’t have anything to do with us.” He said, softly. 

“Really? Nothing to do with us? You’re getting _married_ and that has nothing to do with us? Were you ever going to tell me or just pretend that it didn’t happen? Thanks, you’re a real friend, Kris. Thanks for breaking up with me without telling me about it first.” 

Kris pushed off the wall and walked towards him, trying to salvage anything he could. “But that’s the thing, I don’t want us to break up. I came to ask you to be my Royal Consort.” 

“Oh great, I get to be the third wheel in your marriage. So do I get a turn fucking you when all three of us are in bed together? Or do I just get to watch you fuck your wife?” He waved his hand at his demolished bed. “As you can see, I don’t have any problems with multiple partners in my bed, but I just like to know in advance what I’ll be expected to do.” 

“That’s not how it works!” Kris shouted, frowning. “Royal Consorts are revered! Not a lot of Royal Patricians take a consort—“ 

“Excuse me if I don’t say thank you for making me your official mistress!” Adam yelled at him, leaning forward in the chair. “I’m sure that’ll do great things for my career and my life. I won’t ever get to move on and have a relationship of my own but you expect me to ignore the fact that you’re going to be fucking married!” 

“Adam—“ 

“Fuck off, Kris.” He growled, falling back and closing his eyes, hands gripping the arm rests. 

“Why are you so angry? I’m trying to tell you that nothing is going to change between us,” he said, walking closer until he was standing over him. “What we have—you’re the best thing that I have in my life.” 

Adam leaned his head back, blue eyes sharp and knowing. “But I’m not interested in being _second_ best.” 

“Never. Never second anything,” he said, dropping to his knees between Adam’s legs and putting his hands on the smooth expanse of his chest. “I know you’re worth more than that.” 

“Do you?” Adam murmured, blankly. 

Kris wrapped his hands over Adam’s shoulders, pressing closer to him. “I do, I promise.” He sighed, the tension easing from his body. He could see Adam relaxing under his touch so he kept stroking his hands over his shoulders and arms and chest. “We can make this work. I’ll do anything to make you happy.” 

“Does she know about me?” 

He blinked and then nodded. “Yes, of course she knows that you’re my Eromenos.” 

“I’m a lot more than just your Eromenos.” 

“Yeah,” he whispered, nodding. So much more, he realized. 

“But your future wife doesn’t know you want me to be your Royal Consort, does she?” 

“It’s not up to her.” He ran his thumbs up and down the sides of Adam’s neck, fingers dipping into his thick dark hair. “You know I love you.” 

Adam looked at him for a long moment. “Thank you for the offer but my answer is no.” 

“What?” Kris said, staring at him. 

“I don’t want to be your Royal Consort.” 

“Adam, don’t be so dramatic—“ 

“And I’m not sure I want to continue our Suitor-Eromenos relationship anymore either,” he said, pushing Kris away and getting to his feet. 

“Hey, wait a minute!” 

“Don’t you think that we should end things now, while we can still manage to be friends?” 

Kris scrambled up to his feet. “ _Friends_? Friends! I don’t want to just be your friend, Adam!” 

Adam turned and raised his eyebrow. “So you’re going to break your obligation to me as my former Suitor?” 

“No! I would never dishonor you like that!” Kris shouted, standing right in front of him. Adam’s face was without emotion. He reached up and wrapped his hands over Adam’s shoulders, moving in closer and raising his face to look at Adam. His blue eyes were hooded and Kris was reaching new heights of desperation. “I want you to be _mine_.” 

“I told you once that I’m not a whore and I’m not for sale.” 

“Then what the hell is this sex party about if—“ 

Adam’s blue eyes widened and Kris regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. 

“If what? If I’m not a whore?” He shoved Kris’s arms from him and stepped closer to Kris, using his height to stare down at him. “You sanctimonious cunt. That’s my fucking business. It’s my choice, my liberation, my needs. And fuck you very much for judging me. I’m a _slut_ for pretty twinks, but I’m not a whore. I don’t need to pay to have sex. I don’t need to use my status or my money or my influence to fuck someone.” 

Each word from Adam’s mouth was a knife into Kris’s chest. He flinched when he saw Adam’s look of triumph. 

“That’s your final answer?” 

Adam smirked. “Yup.” 

Kris took a step back and gave a short nod. “I’ll have my father’s assistant draw up the trust documents for you and your family.” 

“Fine.” 

He raised his eyes to look at Adam one last time, feeling like his chest was caving in on him. “I’m sorry it ends like this. I hope you know that I’ll always be there for you if you ever need anything. I didn’t mean to hurt you or make you feel that you weren’t, you know, worthy of more and—“ 

“Fuck,” Adam hissed, grabbing Kris’s arms and dragging him close so that they were pressed against each other. Kris moaned and wrapped his arms around Adam’s shoulders, holding on to him as he kissed him. 

Kris found himself on his back on Adam’s bed. It smelled like sex and musk but Kris didn’t care. He wrapped himself around Adam and kissed him, hand gripping the back of Adam’s hair and holding him in place as he tasted him, dark and sour and familiar. 

Adam’s hands pressed against Kris’s shoulders, shoving him down on the bed. He held Kris down and stared at him, a small curve of a smile on the corner of his lips as one of his hands moved down Kris’s side and between them to undo his jeans. Kris licked his hips and swallowed, watching Adam’s eyes, and he raised himself on his elbows when Adam slid down his body, mouth covering the top of Kris’s cock. 

It was perfect heat and wetness and suction, soft and firm lips tightening at the right moment, clever tongue teasing down the foreskin and swirling around the head. Kris shuddered, biting back his moans, as he met Adam’s eyes, watching him back. He didn’t even he could get so hard so quick and he fell back on the bed as Adam chuckled, pulling off to lick and kiss and suck up and down his cock, nibbling on his tight balls, and brushing his lips up and down the side, tongue coming out to play. Kris reached down and buried his hands into Adam’s hair, urging him for more, needing to feel his mouth on his cock. 

“Please, Adam, please…” 

Adam curled his hands around Kris’s hips, holding him down enough to bruise as he sank his mouth all the way down his cock, bobbing his head quickly shamelessly as he sucked and sucked and sucked – Christ, Kris was going to come. He whimpered and tried to thrust his hips but he couldn’t move against Adam’s hold so he wriggled and made keening sounds as he arched off the bed, the streak of heat converging from his limbs to his cock, coming into Adam’s mouth as he sucked pleasure out of him. 

Kris panted, trying to catch his breath, blinking sightlessly up at the ceiling, as Adam pulled off his cock and pressed a kiss on his lower belly. He got up off the bed and Kris let out a questioning murmur, wondering where Adam was going. He turned his head to see Adam standing at the foot of the bed, staring at him. 

He wiped his mouth. “Just one for the road, sweetheart. It was the least I could do after your pretty speech.” 

Kris gasped, sitting up to stare at him in disbelief. “Adam—“ 

“You know your way out,” Adam said, walking into the bathroom. 

He got to his feet, pulling his briefs and his jeans back up. He looked up to see Adam standing in front of the sink, gargling. His hands clenched as he watched Adam spit into the sink. Before he could say anything – even think of saying something remotely resembling human thought – Adam gave him a final grin and slammed the bathroom door between them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A/N: Please, no Katy hate. Themes of infidelity._
> 
> Photo Credit: http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2012/news/120102/adam-lambert-300.jpg

[](http://www.flickr.com/photos/35532998@N03/7039932609/)

**THE LOS ANGELES TIMES  
Around Town **

_Former Royal Patriarch Eromenos, Rock Star Adam Lambert Steps Out with New Beau_

_Amidst rumors that Adam Lambert broke his contract with his Suitor, Royal Patrician Heir Kristopher Allen, over his upcoming nuptials, the fan favorite rock star seemed to have bounced back very nicely with a new boyfriend, Finnish TV star Sauli Koskenin. The two looked awfully cozy at WeHo club, The Wasteland, where both of them signed autographs and took pictures with other partygoers._

 

“Kris, what do you think about this?” 

Kris sighed and closed the browser on his iPhone and shoved it into his pocket. He pasted on an interested smile as he looked at the two pieces of paper that Katy was holding up for him to look at. “Um…they’re both…cream colored?” 

“This is natural and this is ecru,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Which do you think we should use for the table cards? The caterers need to know by tomorrow and I’ve been so busy attending all those Royal Court protocol lessons that I didn’t get around to doing this until now.” 

“Honestly, whatever you pick is going to be fine with me,” he told her, smiling slightly. 

Katy let out a deep sigh and placed the papers on the table next to the half a dozen sample books opened on the table. “Kris? If you—if you’re not sure about this, if you’re having second thoughts—“ 

“No, hey, it’s fine, really,” he said, quickly. He tried to pull himself together and gave her a smile. “I’m just really distracted right now and—“ 

“About Adam?” 

He ran his hand over his head, debating whether or not to tell the truth. “Yeah. About Adam.” 

“It didn’t take him very long to find someone,” she said, softly. “Not that I’m surprised. He’s talented and famous and gorgeous. There’s probably a long line of guys who would love to be—“ 

“Stop,” he said, keeping his tone even. He was not going to talk about Adam with her. 

Katy made a pained smile and stared at the different colors of card samples. “How long is he going to be part of our lives?” She flicked her eyes up at him. “I mean, as his Suitor, I know you have an obligation to be there for him for anything but…” 

“I want you to put him and his family on the invite list to the wedding.” 

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Are you sure that’s wise? It’s kind of…crass to—“ 

“It’s his choice whether or not he wants to attend, but I want an official invitation sent to him and his family—and to Adam’s boyfriend, too.” 

Katy narrowed her eyes at him for a long moment and then let out a deep breath, dropping her shoulders and smiling at him. “Of course, Kris, whatever you say. I’ll tell the wedding planner in the morning.” 

Kris didn’t want to fight; it felt like that all they did was fight for the past three weeks, even though he couldn’t label what they did as “fighting”. He realized that they were both passive-aggressive and that Kris was going to have to deal with it for the rest of their lives. 

“Look, I need to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow for dinner.” He stood, picking up his keys and jangling them against his leg. 

“Sure,” she said, getting up from the table and coming around to slip her arm through his, walking him to the front door. She kissed his cheek as he opened the door. “Good night.” 

“Night, Katy.” He gave her a smile and walked down the sidewalk to his car. She waved to him from the doorway and he held up his hand, getting into his car. 

The wedding was in just three months; and he finally had to admit to himself that he always felt a little relieved whenever he left Katy’s house.

*** 

**Three Weeks Ago**

Kris walked into his father’s study. “Dad? You got a minute?” 

“Of course, son, come in and have a seat,” Neil said, waving him into the room. 

“Thanks,” he said, closing the door behind him. He took a deep breath and walked to his father’s desk, sitting down in one of the chairs across from him. “I need to break my contract with Adam.” 

Neil tilted his head and gave him a look of surprise. 

“He broke up with me, told me he didn’t want to be my Eromenos anymore,” he said, swallowing. 

“I’ll have someone in the Royal Legal Office draw up the paperwork for you,” he said, kindly. “I take it that you’ll give Adam and the Lambert Family whatever that they need?” 

“Yes, please, whatever they want.” 

“Fine, son, fine.” Neil took a deep breath and curled his hands together, leaning towards Kris. “Now, want to tell me what really happened?” 

Kris shrugged and looked up at his father. “Adam’s not happy about me getting married to Katy.” 

“I see…he must be aware that you have Royal obligations.” 

“Yeah, but…I made a mistake. I didn’t tell him about it or talk to him about it before the engagement. He found out through the papers.” 

Neil stared at him for a long moment. “Kristopher—“ 

“I know, I know.” 

“Kristopher,” he said, standing up and walking around his desk to sit down in the armchair next to Kris. “Son. Why on earth didn’t you discuss this with Adam sooner?” 

“Honestly, dad, I didn’t think I had to. Adam and I—I thought that our Suitor-Eromenos relationship was above all that other stuff.” 

“All that other stuff?” 

Kris winced and ran his hand through his hair. “I know, I’m so dumb.” 

His father sighed, a small smile on his lips. “Kris, you’re not dumb. I should’ve said something when you first told me about Adam and wanting to be his Suitor. I should’ve advised you better. I wished you’d come to me.” 

“Me, too,” he said, giving his father a regretful smile. “Good learning lesson.” 

Neil chuckled. “A hard one, too.” He leaned on the arm rest and gazed at Kris. “Do you love him?” 

“Yeah. Yes, sir, I do.” 

“And Katy?” 

He winced. “I care for her…” 

“Good Lord, son, why didn’t you say anything?” Neil said, frowning slightly. “You know, it’s not too late to stop the wedding—“ 

“I couldn’t humiliate Katy like that.” 

“—or to postpone it, to give you and Adam time to discuss this and try to move forward somehow.” 

Kris stared at his hands. “I think Adam’s too angry at me right now to listen to anything I have to say.” 

“So you’re just going to give up on him?” 

He looked at his father. “I’ve set him free. He didn’t want to be an Eromenos anyway.” 

“No, he didn’t. He wanted to be yours.” 

Kris nodded, sadly. It was true. “Yeah.” 

“Why didn’t you just ask him out on a date and pursue a relationship with him?” 

He smiled and looked sideways at his father. “Cowardliness?” 

“You? Never. I don’t believe that.” 

“Thanks, dad, but I messed up real big this time and I don’t know how to fix it with Adam or with Katy.” 

Neil leaned back in his chair and smiled to himself. “You’ve always been a dutiful son. Your mother and I have always been proud of you. I know it’s not been easy to wear the Royal Patrician Heir title.” He looked at Kris and chuckled. “I know this isn’t the life you want for yourself.” 

“No, it is, I do—“ 

“Kristopher, now listen to me, son. I know—I _know_ that you gave up your music because you thought it wasn’t proper for a Royal Patrician Heir to pursue a music career. You thought it would be selfish to do something for yourself when you had to think about all of your Royal duties and the expectations that the Citizenry put on you. But no matter what you do in your life, you’ll always been a Royal Patrician. You’ll always be my first born. You’ll always be my son.” 

Kris frowned. “I don’t understand…” 

Neil grinned and patted his shoulder. “You’ll figure it out. When you do, talk to me, son.” 

Kris nodded, chewing on his lower lip, not knowing what else to say. 

*** 

It was inevitable that in a town like Los Angeles that Kris would run into Adam. There were enough charity events and awards shows and special fundraising dinners each week that if Kris resurfaced, he knew he would eventually bump into Adam. 

Most times, Kris didn’t make an appearance. He usually sent a large donation in his family’s name and sent Dan to represent the family. But when he received the coveted invitation to Elton John’s AIDS Foundation dinner, Kris wasn’t sure if he was going to go. He knew Adam would be there – no one who received one of the 150 invitations would be stupid enough to turn it down – but Kris wasn’t sure if he was ready to see Adam…and Sauli together. 

Katy was the deciding factor. She picked up the silver colored invitation and her eyes widened as she read it. 

“Kris, you have to go,” she said, urgently. “This is incredible! Why didn’t you tell me that you get invited to these kinds of events?” 

Kris shrugged, smiling at her excitement. “You know I’m not the partying type.” 

“That doesn’t even factor into it! It’s Elton John, Kristopher. You don’t say no to Sir Elton John. And this is such a good charity. I think we should go.” 

“We?” He said, chuckling. 

“For goodness sakes, yes, we! You have to take me, who else would be your plus-one? I’ve been such a fan of Elton John for years!” 

Kris laughed and sank deeper into the couch. “Okay, fine. I’ll accept the invitation.” 

Katy squealed and waved her arms and legs in the air. “Oh! I need a dress!” 

*** 

The guest list was a who’s who of royalty, international glamour, and fame. Kris spent the first hour of the evening shaking hands and kissing cheeks and introducing everyone to Katy. They were given seats at Elton’s table and Kris sipped his champagne and grinned at Katy who was chatting with Katy Perry and Elton’s partner, David Furnish. Next to Kris was Smokey Robinson and they spent a good part of the evening talking about music and how much the industry had changed since Smokey started his career. 

There was a small commotion and Kris turned to see Adam stopping to shake hands and share kisses and hugs as he made his way across the room. Kris saw that he was holding Sauli’s hand and was proudly showing him off. So when they made their way to Elton’s table, Kris wasn’t surprised that he was invited to sit with Elton. 

He stood up and smoothed down the front of his black tuxedo jacket, putting on a smile as Adam turned to look at him. 

“Hi, Adam.” 

“Kris,” he said, his smile fixedly in place. He looked next to Kris to see Katy and Adam’s smile faltered for just a moment. “And you brought your lovely fiancée.” 

“This is Katy O’Connell,” he said, putting his hand on Katy’s back. “Katy, this is Adam Lambert.” 

Katy grinned and shook Adam’s hand with both of hers, moving to her tiptoes to brush a quick kiss on the cheek. “A man who needs no introduction. I’m such a fan of yours, Adam. It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” 

“Likewise,” he murmured, smiling pleasantly at her. He tugged the lovely blonde boy beside him closer to them. “This is Sauli Koskinen. Sauli, this is Kris Allen, the Royal Patrician, and his fiancée, Katy.” 

Kris met Sauli’s eyes and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Sauli.” 

Sauli leaned over and kissed both of Kris’s cheeks. “I’m honored to meet the Royal Patrician.” He kissed Katy’s cheeks as well. “Good evening, Miss O’Connell.” 

Kris couldn’t stopped looking at Adam. He was beautiful in his black tuxedo, his black and brown hair perfectly coiffed, blue eyes blazing intensely. Adam raised his eyebrow at Kris, curling his arm possessively behind Sauli’s back. Kris cleared his throat and smiled, nodding at them. “It’s good to see you again.” 

“Same to you. Have a good evening, Kris,” he murmured, moving away as Elton took his arm, eager to introduce Adam to his other guests. Sauli looked over his shoulder and gave Kris a friendly but curious smile. 

Kris sat back down and Katy leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear, “I always thought Adam was gorgeous, but he’s pretty amazing in person. His boyfriend is adorable.” 

He smiled and nodded, enclosing himself in his usual public façade, showing nothing on his face except for interest and amusement. Katy resumed talking to Chris Colfer at the table beside theirs and Kris listened with only half an ear to Smokey talking about seeing Adam’s performance in New York. 

*** 

Katy was a natural. She was fearless and she wasn’t intimidated and Kris wasn’t surprised to see that she was holding court with a small group of people. He sighed and left the ballroom, looking to get a bit of fresh air. It had been hard to sit across the table from Adam and watch him flirt and laugh and lean his head close to Sauli all evening. He wanted to dislike Sauli, to see him as someone who was just hanging on to Adam’s comet-like career to get something from him, but aside from polite interest of other people, Sauli only had eyes for Adam. 

Well, Kris decided, if Adam was going to have someone in his life, it should be with someone who cared for him. Kris would just have to let it go and find a way to be his friend again. He wasn’t going to begrudge Adam any happiness, even though it burned his soul that that person wasn’t going to be Kris. 

A large, warm hand grabbed his and pulled him through a pair of doors off the main concourse of ballrooms. Kris looked up to see Adam, glaring at him over his shoulder as he tugged Kris quickly through the access corridor. 

“Adam?” 

Adam ignored him, trying the doorknobs to various doors, looking for a private room. He found one and opened it, looking inside to see that it was a linen closet to the hotel catering kitchens. He pulled Kris inside and closed the door and then took hold of Kris’s shoulders and shoved him hard against the back of the door. 

Kris gasped and then groaned when Adam kissed him roughly, all teeth and long sweeps of his tongue. He tasted like champagne and chocolate and Kris wrapped his arms over Adam’s shoulders, clinging to him. 

“Goddamn you,” Adam hissed, pulling away from him. 

Kris licked his lips and fell against the door, watching as Adam took three steps back, staring at him. He touched his bruised bottom lip and blinked up at Adam. 

“I missed you,” he said, softly. 

Adam didn’t say anything. 

Kris cleared his throat. “You look gorgeous.” 

He snorted and rolled his eyes. 

“I’m sorry about everything. I know I should’ve talked to you about Katy and the engagement but I really thought that it had nothing to do with us and I—okay, I knew that you’d be upset about it so I took the coward’s way out by not saying anything and—but you’re with Sauli now and I know you’re pissed at me and—“ 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Adam muttered, moving quickly towards Kris, curling his hands into Kris’s hair and pulling his head back. Kris closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for more. “I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing here. This is so messed up.” 

“Sorry,” he whispered, feeling Adam’s breath on his lips. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for—hmmmm...” 

He moaned as Adam kissed him again, slow and deep, taking his time. Kris licked at Adam’s bottom lip and followed his tongue back into Adam’s mouth, licking and stroking his mouth with long sweeps of his tongue. He felt Adam’s tremble and heard Adam’s soft groan. 

And then he was released just as quickly, feeling empty and cold. He met Adam’s eyes and gave him a shaky smile. Adam looked away, grabbing the doorknob and opening the door quickly, dislodging Kris from leaning against it. 

“I’ll go out first. Give me a few minutes before you leave,” Adam said, tersely. 

Kris watched as Adam looked out into the hallway, checking to see if it was all clear, and left the linen room quickly. Kris bit his lip and closed his eyes, trying to figure out what just happened. He pushed down a sense of hope that Adam wanted him back; but he wished it were so, that this wasn’t just some kind of angry lust on Adam’s part. He could deal with Adam’s anger, which he knew would fade in time and they’d be able to reconnect and build a friendship again. He knew that would be there. But what he couldn’t deal with was Adam playing with his body or his mind…because if Adam wanted it, Kris would have an affair with Adam. If it was the only way that he could keep Adam, Kris would do whatever Adam wanted.


End file.
